U of S launches Fast License program to speed commercialization

Today, the U of S is launching its Fast License program, a program is designed to dramatically reduce the time it takes to acquire a licensing agreement from the university.

Depending on the technology and other factors, securing a licensing agreement can sometimes be a complicated and time-consuming process—taking months or even years to negotiate.  A U of S Fast License, however, can be acquired in a fraction of the time.

“As one of Canada’s top research universities, the U of S has some incredible technologies that entrepreneurs and forward-thinking companies would find of interest in order to increase their competitive edge, including international opportunities,” said Johannes Dyring, managing director of Innovation Enterprise (IE), the unit responsible for commercializing technologies created by U of S researchers. 

“But there is a misconception that it is difficult to secure licensing agreements to benefit from new thinking and innovative technologies developed at a research institution,” said Dyring. We developed the U of S Fast License program to demonstrate that not only are we serious about partnering with companies interested in licensing our technologies, but also that a licensing agreement need not be expensive or difficult to obtain. We believe the Fast License program will drive innovation in Saskatchewan and beyond.”

In a Fast License, the key business terms are available in a succinct and simple summary and are designed to be attractive to most, if not all, companies interested in licensing technologies created by U of S innovators. Both the simple business terms summary and the full license contract are available on the IE website in advance. More than 80 technologies are available for licensing.

 Dyring said companies will find the terms of a U of S Fast License attractive. For example, each license would be exclusive with no restrictions on territory or field of use and the licensee would have attractive royalty rates and full rights to sub-license, accommodating diligence requirements.  

“We invite companies that may be interested in a U of S Fast License to have a conversation with us,” said Dyring. “We believe this program is a real game changer.”

For more information about the U of S Fast License program, see  Innovation Enterprise Fast License.

About U of S Innovation Enterprise: Innovation Enterprise (IE) manages a wide variety of intellectual properties arising from the university’s comprehensive research enterprise. In striving for excellence and engaging in growing the local and global entrepreneurial ecosystem, IE maximizes the impact of knowledge-intensive innovations. 

Under a recent agreement between IE and Uppsala University in Sweden, IE is the Canadian AIMday™ hub, enabling IE to share with universities and research institutes across Canada its expertise in creating successful AIMday events that help drive innovation and academic-industrial collaboration. For more information, visit: research.usask.ca/ie

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